


READ ME

by Tangledfire



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Blood Tests, College Student, DNA, Harvard, Hidden Documents, M/M, Multiple Universes, Original Character(s), Original Story - Freeform, Sad, Science Fiction, Short Story, War, corwin - Freeform, joseph - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 12:22:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7051174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tangledfire/pseuds/Tangledfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Medical Science student Corwin McGarr was testing his blood in his college labs when the most impossible thing happens. The computer finds a document in his DNA tilted READ ME.</p>
            </blockquote>





	READ ME

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for my creative writing class.

Corwin sighed and ran his hard through his short brown hair for the fifth time in two minutes. He could not grasp how it had come to this. Only a few hours ago he was a normal grad student at Harvard, trying to earn his doctorate and go out to be a doctor of some sort. He never expected to find this while messing around in the lab.

Earlier that morning he had entered the empty labs on a whim. He had been having trouble trying to decide what to write for his thesis paper, but no inspiration was forthcoming. he decided to take some of his blood and analyze his DNA. It was one of his favorite things to do, take his DNA and compare it to others, he loved to find the little differences that made him, him. He had even taken some of his boyfriend's blood and compared it to his own. Joseph had laughed when he had asked but eventually gave in to Cowin's odd request, just like always.

Thinking of his boyfriend he turned from the computer to his phone. Pressing the button on the side he noticed that he had two messages. He read through them, both from Joseph, one announcing that he will be playing King Arthur in a production being put on at his own college and the second asking what he wanted for dinner and what time he would be home.

He smiled and typed back that he was very proud of Joseph and that he wanted spaghetti and would be home soon.

Putting the phone down he looked back at the computer screen. As he stared he felt his distress return.

Front and center of his screen was a white box. The message READ ME in the middle, with two squares underneath one saying yes the other no.

It had to be a joke, it just had to be.

Half an hour ago he had been scrolling through the analysis of his DNA smiling at the data collected from thymine, guanine and cytosine, when a box popped up. 

AN UNEXPECTED FILE HAS BEEN FOUND 

He had pressed a few buttons on the keyboard, gaining him more information as to what in the world the computer was talking about

AN UNEXPECTED FILE HAS BEEN FOUND 

 

The coding for a word document has been found inside your test sample. Would you like to open it? 

 

Yes. No. 

A word document had been found in his DNA? 

 

The computer must be broken. 

 

But a scientist is always curious. So Cowin had clicked yes and that is what had gotten him the box. 

 

READ ME   
YES. NO. 

He had stalled long enough. If it was a joke he would find out, if it was not then, well... he would see what happens. 

With a shaking cold hand he reaches for the mouse and moved the cursor over yes. 

A small click and the computer whirred to live. 

Brown eyes watched as a white and blue screen opened, words appearing on the blank expanse. 

READ ME 

 

Hello, 

 

I know this is rather expected... and I know you are surprised. I would be too. 

 

But, well first I feel that I should tell you that I know who you are. 

 

Corwin.

 

Corwin McGarr.

Corwin stopped here. Eyes wide. A moment to breath. 

You live in a small apartment in Boston, with your boyfriend Joseph Ester. You are working to get your doctorate at Harvard University. 

 

Still don't believe that I know you, do you? 

 

You have brown hair, brown eyes. You're six feet and one centimeter. You have a cat named sr. William and sometimes you dream that you're standing on a tall building looking down at the rest of the world, and then you walk off the edge. You've never told anyone that, have you? But I know.

He stops again. Visions of blue sky and black widows as he falls flicker through his head. 

I know because I know everything. I know the past and the future. 

I have seen the beginning and end of all the worlds.

 

But I'll make this clear, I'm not god. 

 

I'm something different. 

 

I am a mask maker. 

 

Mask maker... not something you will hear about in any legend, or book. 

 

We made sure of that. 

 

But I'm getting ahead of myself, I should introduce myself, it's only fair. 

 

So here goes.

 

My name is All-ice.

 

As of today I am 3012 years old, but by the time you read this I will be much much older. 

 

I am a girl. 

 

And I am a Mask Maker.

 

You see there are three types of souls in the universe. Mask makers, Spirit Stalkers and Human Souls. 

 

I doubt that I need to explain Human Souls to you. But as for the others, I'll start with the Spirit Stalkers.

 

Not so long ago, for me at least, the Mask Makers and the Spirit Stalkers watched over all the world's in all the universe from their home world. The spirit stalkers lived under the earth, in huge cities carved out I've caves and lit by blue fire. They were rather uptight, at least in my opinion, and lived secluded lives in their tunnels. I know they had a great love of knowledge and reading. Their most amazing trait was their ability to see souls, to glance at a person and know the color, strength, and category of a soul.   
Mask makers are a completely different story. We lived above the ground, in large cities of ice and small houses in the plains, and intricate tree houses that spanned miles of forest. We were artists, writers, singers, painters, illustrators, dancers. And our most amazing ability was to disguise ourselves as anyone.   
And so our two races watched the world's, kept them safe. 

 

But well, we never really got along. 

Again corwin stopped reading. This had to be some sort science fiction joke... but she knew, knew his name, his life, his dreams. He looked back at the screen, eyes pulled to the words again.

I used to live with my brother ni-shin. we were happy living in our small house in the plains. Everyday my brother would play an instrument that was much like a piano, and I would make masks, or sing, or write, or lay in the golden wild grass and listen as his haunting songs would drift out the front window. 

 

In our small town we were never bothered with the politics between us and the spirit stalkers. We rejoiced in the worlds, imagined impossible things, danced in fire light. 

I would like to say that it was not the mask makers who started the war. But in honestly I don't know. 

I do know that it was a spirit stalker who devised a weapon to destroy souls. To keep them from every being reborn. 

 

When war broke out... it was chaos. 

 

Maybe things would be different if I had fought. Maybe I'd be dead... 

 

But I'm not.

 

The war ravaged my home for 1,000 years. My neighbors died. My friends died. My brother died. 

 

And I hid, ran from the destruction, the death, the pain. 

 

When the war ended, and I stopped hiding it was only to find the world dead. 

 

Me and 6 others were the only to survive.

 

Four mask Makers and three spirit stalkers. 

 

We knew as we gazed out at our ruined home that we had failed our task. We were supposed to look after all the worlds. But we only succeeded in destroying our own. 

 

We beings, so imperfect, so cruel, and so lost. 

 

After that we decided to remove all memory of us from the worlds of humans. You did not need to remember us. We were once beings for you to look up to, ask for guidance. 

 

But I... well I couldn't be totally content with just leaving you with no memory of us. Someone should know of our mistakes, know not to repeat them. So I left this letter for you to find. In every universe that you exist in this letter lies hidden in your DNA and in some of them you find it, in some you do not. It is enough for me to know that in the vast infinity of existence I am not forgotten.  
Of Course me and the seven others all still do our duty, to the best of our ability. But seven of us... well many problems go uncorrected. There is war and hate and so much death amongst humans, because of our failure. 

 

We walk among you, traveling, world to world, hidden helpers. 

 

Corwin.

 

I only have one request.

 

Please remember me. 

 

Remember us. 

 

That is all I ask.

And that was the end. The words stopped. 

 

Corwin's eyes watched those blank words. The truth. He knew the truth that no other human knew. The impossible, insane, and heart wrenching truth. 

 

With slow moments he closed down the computer. Mind blank he picked up his bag and phone, then left the lab. Door shutting with a click. 

 

The metro ride to his apartment was a blur. When he got home he ate with Joseph, who only once asked if something was wrong. He watched the news, changed into pajamas, brushed his teeth, slipped into bed, arms curling around his boyfriend, head on his chest, cat curled between their legs. 

 

His life went on.


End file.
